Inspired by a boxing, DJing nun, the trombonist laid down the foundations of reggae – but he was also a schizophrenic who killed his girlfriend, Jamaica’s ‘rhumba queen’ Margarita. A new graphic novel retells their stories
n the early hours of 2 January 1965, Anita “Margarita” Mahfood returned to the room she lived in on Rusden Road in Kingston, Jamaica, with her boyfriend, the trombonist Don Drummond. Margarita was the “rhumba queen” of the island, famous for her sensual and provocative dancing; Drummond was a trombonist, and a huge musical star.
As well as the murder, Augustyn’s book documents a life of poverty, racial injustice, exploitation and brutal medical treatment on the island. “Don was too good to stay in,” says Vin Gordon from his home in Paris. The current trombonist in the Skatalites, Gordon was briefly known as Don Drummond Jr due to their similar playing styles – although without Drummond, their main star and composer, they broke up not long after his arrest and none of the original lineup survive.
The school’s reputation brought scouts for bandleaders, and when guitarist Ernest Ranglin came knocking in 1950, she got him to hear Drummond and Ranglin signed the 16-year-old up for the Eric Deans Orchestra, playing jazz standards for wealthy tourists and the upper echelons of society. Drummond’s reputation grew, and by 1954 he had left and formed his own band, the Don Drummond All-Stars, and would get to play with visiting jazz greats Sarah Vaughan and Dave Brubeck.
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